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Pakistan releases 57 Indian fishing boats

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FISHING-Boats

Islamabad: As a goodwill gesture, Pakistan today released 57 Indian fishing boats that were in its custody.

In a statement, Foreign Office (FO) said the decision to release the vessels was taken in May last year.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited India at that time to attend the oath-ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An eight-member Indian delegation visited Karachi from March 9 to finalise modalities for the repatriation of boats with officials of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), the statement said.

“While the PMSA had kept the boats in good condition, it extended full support to the visiting team in making the boats seaworthy after minor repairs. Subsequently, the boats were towed to the maritime boundary today, where these were physically taken over by the Indian side,” it said.

Indian fishermen and boats are often apprehended by PMSA authorities when they violate Pakistan territorial waters.

Usually the boats are not in seaworthy condition and are not returned.

However, following instructions from the Prime Minister to return these boats, special efforts were undertaken by the PMSA to ensure that the boats are returned to their owners, the statement added.

Pakistan and India frequently arrest rival fishermen for violating the sea waters.

(PTI)

Pak 'terror boat': Coast Guard DIG, B K Loshali claims he ordered it to be 'blown up'

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Indian Coast Guard DIG B K Loshali, speaking on Monday, (Inset: The fishing boat on fire on the high seas).

Indian Coast Guard DIG B K Loshali, speaking on Monday, (Inset: The fishing boat on fire on the high seas).

Surat: The government may have claimed that the occupants of the ‘terror boat’ intercepted by the Coast Guard on 31 December, 2014 set themselves on fire but a statement by a senior Coast Guard official saying that he had ordered the boat to be ‘blown off’ may just open a can of worms on the incident again.

In an exclusive report, the Indian Express today quoted a Deputy Inspector General of the Coast Guard, B K Loshali, saying that he was there at Gandhinagar and he had ordered officials to ‘blow the boat off’ as opposed to government’s he claim that the boat  had blown itself up under suspicious circumstances.

Watch the video here:

The DIG’s statements came while he was launching the boat and the report quotes him as saying that while he had prepared a written speech, he would deviate from it to express what was in his heart.

The report has sparked controversy given that the defence establishment and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar have consistently maintained that the occupants of the boat had blown themselves up after  leading the Coast Guard on a chase.

The official stand of the coast guard, was that after receiving an intelligence input they had pursued the ship with an aircraft and a vessel. They said that instead of surrendering, “the boat started moving in a zig-zag way and switched off lights.”

The occupants of the boat allegedly ignored warning shots that were fired at it and after some time its occupants were accused of setting the vessel on fire, resulting in it sinking. No evidence had emerged of the occupants carrying explosives.

The government had also claimed that they had evidence of call intercepts that were made from the boat to Pakistan, which proved that the occupants were suspected terrorists.

Pakistan had said it expected India to conduct a “transparent” probe and had said that its own investigation has shown that there was “no sound evidence” to substantiate India’s assertions.

(Agencies)

Pakistan rejects Indian report on explosives boat

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Pak_boat

Islamabad: Pakistan has rejected India’s claim that the crew of a Pakistani fishing boat blew up and sank their vessel in an attempt to evade capture at the hands of the Indian Navy in a high-speed chase at sea, Geo News reported.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam denied that any boat from Keti Bunder port of the country’s Sindh Province had sailed off.

Sources in the Foreign Office termed the Indian claim as mere propaganda to tarnish the image of Pakistan, the report added.

The Coast Guard on December 31 night intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat with explosives near the maritime boundary off the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea.

Based on the intelligence inputs, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft undertook a sea-air coordinated search and located the suspect fishing boat 10-15 km inside Indian waters. Thereafter, a Coast Guard ship on patrol was diverted and it intercepted the unlit boat around midnight, 365 km west-southwest of Porbandar.

(IANS)

Boat, allegedly from Pakistan, intercepted, explodes, sinks

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coastguard

New Delhi: A suspicious Pakistani fishing boat intercepted by the Coast Guard and navy in the Arabian sea exploded and sank after its crew set fire to it, the Indian government said Friday.

The boat had set off from Keti Bunder near Karachi and was planning ‘some illicit transaction’ in the Arabian Sea, a defence ministry statement said.

Indian Coast Guard ships and navy aircraft tried to intercept the boat near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary, about 365 km from Porbander in Gujarat, on the night of Dec 31-Jan 1.

A Coast Guard ship warned the boat to stop for investigation of the crew and cargo. But the vessel increased speed and tried to get away.

‘(A) hot pursuit continued for nearly one hour, and the Coast Guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots,’ the statement said.

‘Four persons were seen on the boat who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship to stop and cooperate with investigation.’

The suspicious crew then hid themselves below the deck and set the vessel on fire, resulting in an explosion and a major fire.

‘Due to darkness, bad weather and strong winds, the boat and persons on board could not be saved or recovered. The boat burnt and sank in the same position in early hours of Jan 1,’ the statement said.

(IANS)

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